


Chasing the Sun

by Stockholmsyndrom



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003), Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Carnival, F/M, Fairy Tale Elements, Merry-Go-Round, Royai - Freeform, pinoccio-esque
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-02-10 10:55:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18659014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stockholmsyndrom/pseuds/Stockholmsyndrom
Summary: Roy has been a horse on the old Merry-go-round ever since he can remember. He has seen countless children in his days, and each laugh he could get out of them, made him happy.But then he meets her.Or....Toy Story meets Pinoccio meets East of the Sun, West of the Moon (kinda Beauty and the Beast?)Fairy Tale-ish Royai





	1. Leaving Dusk

**Author's Note:**

> The idea for this came from a Tumblr post just talking about the horses on Merry-go-rounds like this... It kind of went from there...
> 
> This is probably going to be a 2 parter, I have written some more, but the story is not finished yet. Bear with me. Some details and tags may change after completion. 
> 
> But as for now: please enjoy the love story of a little village girl and her favorite toy horse!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The horse and the little princess meet and become friends, but something tears them apart.

He lived on that old carousel ever since he could remember. Over the many years of his existence he had seen a lot of children, many of which had ridden him.  
The old mustang horse with the chipped paint.

The last one two buy the carousel had been a Madame Christmas, a woman from the traveling folk who used to make her living as a fortune teller and a dancer in her youth. Now that her bones were too tired to dance she had taken what little fortune she had set aside and purchased his carousel.

She had given all of them a makeover, stripping their wooden bodies off the old and cracked paint and had repainted all of them. His sisters had been given pearly white or rose pink coats, golden finishings on the saddles and some even beautiful floral markings down their sides. Celine and Vanessa had been gleeful when the Madame had adorned their foreheads with golden horns and Madeline had almost cried when her sides had been painted with beautiful, feathered wings.

The Madame had looked at him for a long time until she had put down her brush, getting a new can of paint. She had carefully applied the dark black liquid over his stripped wooden surface. And then she had painted his saddle in the warmest of browns, so reminiscent of the whisky she sometimes drank after a long day of work.

The girls had snickered and called him a handsome colt, all whistling and giving him compliments.

Roy liked his new coat. He felt gorgeous and free, like he could be galloping over the hills.  
Finally the Madame took them all over the country, and they once again enjoyed the bubbly laughter of young children.

Being the only boy amongst his sisters meant that Roy mostly had little boys riding him. Not many of the little village boys wanted to ride a magical unicorn or fly on the back of a beautiful pegasus.  
And not many girls wanted to play cowboy and sit on a humble black stallion when they could be princesses or fairy Queens instead.  
But Roy didn't mind. He loved all the children that sat on his back and filled his life with purpose and love.  
He thought he couldn't be happier in his life.

That was until he met her.

She was a shy little thing. At first he didn't even notice that she was a girl. Her short blonde hair and her raggedy pants and dirty hands made her look like a boy. She didn't ride on the carousel.  
She just stood there among the crowd, watching the other children giggle and laugh as the carousel spun around endlessly to the cheery childish tunes of the music.

She had longing in her gaze, her large amber eyes never leaving them.

When the carousel stopped, she reluctantly came closer. He thought she would finally hop onto one of his sisters or into one of the pretty carriages. But she only stepped up to him and gently placed a hand on his wooden mane.

"Hello," she whispered shyly, as the children got off and new ones were being helped up by their parents and the fair staff.

"I am Riza," and now Roy was sure that she was a little girl. He looked into her expressive eyes and smiled for her. She was petting him, not many children actually did that. She didn't see of course. He was a toy, she couldn't see his smile. He did it anyway.

"Are you going to hop on or not?"

The Madame had appeared behind Riza, startling the girl.

"No ma'am," she mumbled and let go of him. Roy watched her as she stumbled backwards and vanished in the crowd.

He looked at the sign proclaiming that a ride was 10 cenz. Apparently that was too much for little Riza to afford. Roy was sad.

 

On their second day at the fair, little Riza was back. Roy could feel her eyes on him, watching the other children have their fun.

This time she didn't hesitate as much as the day before. Each time the carousel stopped, she would come over, gently running her fingers over his smooth body and sometimes even rubbing his face.

She would tell him little things like:

"You are pretty."

"I have never seen a real horse, just sheep and cows... "

"If everyone here is a princess, you are the king."

Roy had never been called a king before. His chest swelled with pride and he made sure to jump extra high up and down the pole that he was attached to as she watched.

She would come over to him a lot. But each time the carousel started up the cheery music again and they all began to spin around, she would give him a sigh and let go, patiently going back to her place in the crowd, forever looking on longingly.

On the third and last day of the fair, Roy didn't see little Riza. He waited for her the whole day, wishing to have her stroke his mane again. Wishing to hear her soft voice again. But he waited to no avail. The day passed by without a single glimpse of the unruly golden hair. If he could, Roy would have hung his head in disappointment.

"Your little friend didn't show up today, huh?" the Madame said as she took a long drag of her cigarette. The fair had closed down. The last visitors were going, leaving the staff to start disassembling the fair grounds so they could move on to the next village.

Roy didn't answer. The Madame wouldn't hear him anyway. Just because she sometimes spoke to them did not mean that she could understand them.

He gazed up at the sky, taking in the sight of the glittering stars above them. The air smelled fresh and clean. It was a beautiful early summer night.

Suddenly he saw her. She was lurking behind a half empty barrel that was used for apple bobbing. Her golden hair was gleaming in the colorful twinkling lights. She was watching them again.

"You can come out now little girl, it's not polite to hide in the shadows... "

"I am sorry, Madame..." said little Riza.

Roy and Madame Christmas both regarded the scrawny little thing. Roy was happy to see her. The Madame took another drag from her cigarette.

"Come to finally have a ride?" she asked, her voice hoarse from the whisky and the tobacco.

The girl cast her gaze to the ground.

"I haven't got the money," she explained, her voice somehow made her seem even smaller than she already was.

The Madame chuckled.

"Mumpitz. You have been grooming little Roy here for the last two days. You should get to ride him."

Roy watched as her eyes grew wide and her whole face lit up. The Madame unceremoniously grabbed her under the arms and placed her in his saddle, before walking over to the booth and starting up the ride.

The music slowly got in tune and everyone around him came to life. His sisters started prettily prancing up and down on their golden and silver poles, going in a light hearted gallop. But Roy had no eyes for them. He was enjoying being the only horse that was being ridden tonight. And he enjoyed the way little Riza would grasp at his mane or the saddle, or how she would sometimes lean forward and gently stroke his nose.

But most of all, did he enjoy the sound of her bubbly laughter. He had never heard a sound so beautiful. 

 

 

A year had passed and they were finally back in that little town with the little tomboy girl. Roy recognized the tall oak trees surrounding the fair site and the sounds of the wild birds of prey, as they searched the nearby field for mice.

Roy had thought about little Riza often during the year. Many children had ridden him since her, but none had stroked over his mane with her gentleness and none had whispered into his ear as softly.

He wondered if she would be back this year.  
He looked for her as soon as the fair opened on the first day. His eyes scanned the crowds of children for a familiar mop of blonde hair. Each time he stopped spinning around with his sisters and no little girl in raggedy pants ran over to pet him, had him more disappointed.

When the sun started to set on the first day, he had given up hope. Another boy had ridden him wildly, spurring him into a fantastic gallop and urging him to chase down some cow thieves or whatever. Roy had smiled at the little boy's wild fantasies.

As the little kid climbed off him, he didn't even notice the shadowy figure stepping closer. But then there she was. The little girl stood in front of him, smiling shyly.

"Hey there, pretty boy..." she whispered and Roy gleamed.

She was back! His little girl had come back to him! She took right to stroking his mane and softly scratched behind his ears.

And as it was time for the next ride, she gave him a smile and a wave and stepped back into the crowd.

Roy did his best to impress her again with his jumps and the way he would proudly parade in front of her.

She never got on that day, nor the next, but she did visit every evening and petted and stroked him in between rides. Roy could feel the Madame's eyes on them both and he tried not to pay too much attention to his sisters smirking at him whenever little Riza rushed over to him. She had no eyes for any of them, regardless of how pretty their saddles, their wings or their golden horns were. Riza only ever came to him.

On the third day she brought him a flower wreath. She shyly asked the Madame if she could put it around his neck, and the woman just nodded.

So on the third day Riza shyly came up to him and hung the flowers around his neck. Roy was touched. None of his sisters ever had worn real flowers. And here he was, in an abundance of daisies and forget-me-nots and a whole bunch of flowers he didn't even recognize.

He wore the flowers the whole day, listening to Riza talk about the books she liked and the chickens she cared for, or her sick father. Never once did she mention any friends though. Roy suspected that the shy little girl did not have many. He had never seen any of the other kids talk to her, even though she stood right besides them and they were the same age.

It saddened him to think that his little girl might be lonely.

On the last evening of the fair, the Madame came over to them.

"Hello again. I see that you have groomed him again this year."

"I am sorry. I... I can go."

The worry and nervousness in her voice struck a cord with Roy. She sounded defeated and scared. Like she had been caught something that she shouldn't be doing and that she knew she would be punished for.

The Madame simply laughed.

"Oh no, don't be silly child! You must be the best horse groomer in the East, if not all of Amestris! I would be a fool to send you away! And now you made him a flower wreath too. I can tell that he likes it. Just look at how proudly he's been prancing around all day! "

That got a little hesitant chuckle out of Riza. Roy smiled at that.

"You have proven yourself to be a great assistant to me. So I want you to have this." 

With that, the Madame pulled out one of the wooden chips that served as tickets for the ride. It looked different than the others in that it had been painted with the same gold paint that the Madame used to paint the carousel with. Little Riza's eyes grew wide. 

"This is your golden ticket. Use it whenever we are in town, and you can ride the carousel as many times as you want." 

The girl took the offered chip with slightly trembling hands. She stared at it, not quite believing the kindness the older woman was showing her. 

" I... Thank you so very much... "

The Madame laughed and helped her up and climb on his back before she started up the carousel again. Little Riza rode on his back for three whole runs that evening before she had to go back home, clutching the painted wooden chip against her chest like a treasure. 

 

 

When the fair came back into the sleepy little village the next year, Roy was happy to see the girl again. She had grown slightly, her blonde hair curling around her chin and slipping out of the simple headband that she had wrapped around it. 

She greeted him laughing and didn't waste any time to climb onto his back this time. She still petted his mane and during the rides would tell him all about the things that happened during the last year. 

Roy learned that little Riza loved reading. She enjoyed books far beyond her age range and especially loved books on history and adventure novels. 

The girl grew more and more on him. She would stick around as much as she could, sometimes coming early and leave for several hours to get back to her chores, just to come back in the evening, shortly before the fair closed down. As many times as she would ride the carousel, she would never get onto any other horse but him. 

Roy was very proud of that fact. 

Saying goodbye grew to be a hard task for him. Whenever the little girl left to go back home, he felt a sense of sadness and loss he never even knew he was capable of. 

Each year the fair came into her village he would look forward to seeing her again. And each year she would have grown just a little more. Roy was worried that when she grew out of her childhood and into her teenage years, she would lose interest in silly carousel horses. But even as little Riza developed into a beautiful girl, she kept coming to see him. 

 

In the seventh year since he met her she actually was not alone. It was a little hard for him to recognise her, since she had had a growth jump since the last year. But there she was, his little Riza, grown into a lovely young woman, hanging on the arm of a dark haired girl. Both girls had rosy cheeks and were laughing, the dark haired one stuffing her mouth with a piece of cotton candy she had ripped off the stick. 

"Seriously Ri? A carousel? Aren't we a little too old for that?" 

Riza laughed and let go of her friend's arm to come closer. 

"I can't believe that that is what all your gushing has been about... This looks a little childish to me." 

"Oh come on, Becca! One ride won't kill you." 

With that the girl stepped closer, laying her hand on Roy's forehead and gently stroked over it. 

"Hello again," she said with a soft smile. 

Roy would have drawn in a sharp breath, had he been capable. She had grown into such a beautiful young woman. 

"Well, then at least let's get into one of the carriages, or a pretty unicorn! What do you want with that boring old mare?" 

A string of pearly laughter escaped Riza's throat and she grinned at her friend. 

"He certainly does not appreciate you calling him boring or old!"

With that she expertly climbed onto his back and gently patted his side.

"I apologise for my friend. She deals in sheep and whisky, she doesn't recognizes a regal stallion when she sees one."

"I heard that!"

Roy couldn't care less. He was happy to have little Riza back, even though she wasn't so little anymore. He enjoyed the time he had with her, even though being here with her friend meant that she didn't spent the days on his back as she used to.

She came back before they left, just to pet his mane and tell him she would be back the next day. 

Roy watched her go with his dark eyes and wished that it was the next day soon.

But Riza never came.

Roy waited for her the whole day, and the next. But his blonde girl did not come back to him.

When they packed up that last evening and he was placed in the cart for safe keeping on the journey, he still held out hope that his little girl would magically appear to at least say goodbye. His hopes died as the door of th cart closed, leaving him in the dark.

 

A year later had Roy anxious. He had worried a lot during the time that he was away. Riza didn't strike him as the type of person who would not keep her promises. She had visited the fair every day since he had met her. And then she had promised him to come back for him the next day. She would never abandon him like that. She was far too nice to do such a thing.

His sisters all teased him about it too. It wasn't often that one of them developed a bond with the human riding them, especially not such a deep and long lasting one. Sure, there were always children who would grow attached to a specific horse over the course of a few rides, but that never lasted and it was never mutual.

But the way Roy was looking for his little Riza whenever they came into town? That was something they had never seen before.

The first day passed without as much as a speck of blond in the crowd. But Roy wouldn't give up. Surely Riza would be back. She would not have forgotten him. And she certainly wouldn't abandon him. Not with the way she stroked over his mane and pet his head, or scratched behind his ears. There was a small speck behind his ear that had slightly lost color due to her constant scratching and stroking. If the Madame ever noticed, she didn't comment on it, nor did she try to paint over the little spot.

The second day came and went by, and still no Riza. On the third day Roy had given up hope all together. She wouldn't come back. He knew. His little girl had grown out of the age were she enjoyed riding on the back of wooden horses on merry-go-rounds.

She had grown up.

 

The next year was very hard on him. He wasn't looking forward to coming back to Riza's village at all. She wouldn't be there and yet he knew that he would hold out hope. He had thought of nothing but her, no matter how many children sat on his back.

He missed her.

The weather this year certainly wasn't in favour of Madame Christmas' little fair. It was stormy in the little village and the first day was filled with heavy rain. The fair ground was almost deserted. Not many people came to the rides or were willing to eat their cotton candy in the rain.

Roy thought it to be very fitting.

"I remember you, you're Riza's horse!"

Roy looked at the young black haired woman that stood before him. He recognised her to be the friend she had been with on the day he had last seen her. Hope swelled up inside of him. If she was here then maybe Riza would come back after all?

The young woman purchased a ride and came back over. Roy was a little surprised. She hadn't been very keen on him last time.

But the woman - Rebecca, he recalled - climbed onto his back and sat in the saddle. The children around them got onto the ride as well, and soon enough the Madame started the carousel again. Cheery music rang through the rainy air.

"Wow. To think that I would come here and ride a stupid toy horse..."

Rebecca's hand was cold on his mane. The rain must have her freezing.

"She would want me to say hello. It's ridiculous. She loved you so much, wouldn't shut up about her friend the horse. And would you look at me. Talking to a dumb horse on a merry-go-round. God, I miss her...."

Roy was confused. What exactly was Rebecca saying? Where was Riza? He wished he could talk just so that he could ask her where she had gone. 

But thankfully Rebecca didn't need to be questioned. She was a very talkative girl and carried on perfectly on her own. 

"I can't believe she enlisted. God. First her father dies and then she goes off to the military to make a living there... I mean she has always been a great shot and a great caretaker. But a military nurse? God knows she'll get into trouble..." 

 

That evening, when the fair had closed up and all the kids had gone back home, Roy cried miserably. He didn't care that his sisters were worried, he didn't care that he was being ridiculous. As the stormy rain was hitting against his wooden body and ran down the side of his face, he felt the tears as if they were burning hotly on his cheeks. 

The howling wind was his agonising cry. The sharp rain was his tears and the raging thunder the sound of his broken heart. 

Roy wailed for the little girl he had loved and had now lost to the war. She would never come home. Soldiers came home in coffins. 

The carousel shook in the blazing rain, that had turned into hail somewhere along the way. Roy could feel his sisters growing more and more uneasy. Then there was a blinding light and a loud crash as the merry-go-round was struck by lightning.


	2. Rushing Dawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The lost little horse is looking for his princess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, this was supposed to be a two parter but then it got away from me... It's definitely going to stay at 3 chapters however, because what was supposed to be the second part turned out to be a whooping 6700 words, so i decided to just split it up. And don't worry, this time you don't have to wait another 2 months in between chapters!

Roy awoke to the sound of blaring sirens. He sat up, slightly disoriented. What happened? Where was he?

Around him, soldiers were hopping out of beds and hastily getting dressed. They scrambled into their uniforms and quickly slipped into their boots.

Roy sat up in his bed, utterly confused at the situation. He looked down on his hands, wondering where his wooden body had gone. He was a carousel horse, not a human!

And yet here he was, being urged into uniform and boots, copying the other soldiers around him. There were shouts around him, and he followed the others through the camp site.

"Yo, Roy!"

A man made his way over. Roy didn't know who he was, he had never seen him. His dark short hair was combed back except for a loose strand that fell into his face. The eyes behind his square glasses were a most intense shade of chartreuse he had ever seen.

"Uh..."

"It's Maes, dummy! Maes Hughes! Man you must have hit your head harder than we thought. Better get that checked out by a nurse!" 

Now Roy was at an utter loss. He had no idea what was happening anymore. The man - Maes, his mind corrected - pulled him to the side as the other men all lined up like perfect little toy soldiers. Roy knew this because a few of the children that had come to the fair over the years would play with them.

Maes grabbed him by the chin and looked deep into his eyes, probably assessing whether or not he should follow through and send him to the nurse.

The door was pushed open and a man walked in. He was not the tallest, and his near white hairline had receded significantly. His sharp eyes twinkled behind his glasses. Roy tried not to stare at his mustache too much. It was rather well kept and it reminded Roy of a few grandfathers that came to the fair with their families. A sudden surge of homesickness overcame him. He wanted to go home again.

“Sergeant Hughes, what seems to be the problem?” the old man inquired. 

Roy took a moment to notice the insignia on his uniform, declaring him a Lieutenant General. He had no idea why he even knew this, he had never studied the military. But something in his mind just seemed to know.

“Nothing, Sir! It’s just… Sergeant Mustang seems to have a head injury from yesterday. Permission to sent him to the infirmary, Sir!”

The Lieutenant General inched closer. He stared at Roy, his eyes turning into narrow slits as he eyed him very closely. Roy just blinked at the man, who was a perfect stranger to him.

“Name and rank, soldier,” he instructed.

“Sergeant Roy Mustang, Sir,” Roy answered faithfully. He knew his name, but the rank he had thankfully memorized from when Maes said it.

“Very Good. And mine?”

Roy blinked. He had no idea. He had never met the man, how was he even supposed to…

“Grumman? Lieutenant General Grumman?” he tried. He had no idea where that name had come from. It had just popped up in his mind, like a ghost that had always been haunting him.

“Hm, quite right my boy… but I cannot help but notice that you seem a little disoriented… Best you report to the infirmary, just in case. The good people there will know what to do with you.”

Roy waited for what he assumed an order should sound like, but one look into the eyes of Maes told him that this had been his order. He quickly saluted and left for the door.

“Uh, thank you Sir!” he remembered to at least say this much before leaving his commanding officer to go on with his inspection. He could see the man shake his head and had the feeling that he was quite certain that Roy had at least a concussion.

But what was he supposed to tell him? That he wasn’t even a soldier but a wooden horse that somehow magically came to life? They wouldn’t send him to the infirmary, they would sent him to an asylum.

He didn’t even know where he was going. It seemed that his feet were just carrying him around the military base as if they had done nothing else in his life. Before he could even ponder what that could mean, he stood in front of an oddly familiar door.

He knocked and then pushed in. The woman at the desk looked up from her paper.

“Uh, Sergeant Roy Mustang. Lieutenant General Grumman said I am to report to have my… head injury checked out?”

“Go to cabin number 5, I will send a nurse right away.”

Roy nodded and did as he was told. Cabin number 5 turned out to be a small space that was shielded by curtains, just holding a cot and a little mobile table. Not knowing what else he could do, Roy sat down on the cot and waited.

When the curtain finally was pulled back, Roy almost fell off his cot.

"Sergeant Mustang," the woman said unceremoniously as ste stepped into the cabin. 

Roy had the sudden urge to jump to his feet and salute her, even though she was just a nurse. But she radiated authority. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a knot at the base of her neck, only a little fringe above her left eye dared to fall into her face. She regarded him with professional eyes, her gaze hard but not cold. Roy knew those eyes. He knew this woman so intimately like he had never known a person in his entire existence. He could feel himself being pulled in by her radiance and wished that she would smile happily again, like she had done as a small child. 

"Riza…" hehe breathed, her name falling from his lips with the inevitability of rain falling from the clouds. 

Something in her brown eyes shifted, and Riza stirred, a moment of confusion on her face. 

"That's nurse Hawkeye to you, Sergeant." 

Roy couldn't help but continue to stare at her. He couldn't believe it. He had actually found her. 

She was just as beautiful as she had been when he had last seen her, moreso even. Roy mapped her even face out with his eyes, let his gaze linger on her lips for just a moment before he turned them to her nose and her beautiful eyes. 

Before he knew what he was doing, he had leaned close to her, her hitched breath ghosting over his cheeks. 

"I found you," he breathed, happily and pressed his lips against hers. 

The resonating slap could be heard through the whole infirmary. Roy held his stinging cheek, his confusion clearly written across his features. 

"Next time you try this on me I put a bullet between your eyes, you perverted bastard!" 

With that Riza stomped out of the cabin, leaving behind a confused and wounded Roy. 

 

 

 

 

"You just kissed her?!" 

Maes was nearly toppling over from laughter, his eyes nearly over swimming with tears from all the cackling. He had to hold his stomach and was shaking very badly. Roy had the distinct feeling that he also had trouble breathing, judging from the wheezing sounds he made in between. That couldn't be healthy. 

"That's how the boys at the fair always did it," Roy retorted, the pout eminent on his tone. 

"At the fair?" 

"I used to… Work at a fair. And the boys always confessed to the girls like that and then they kissed them."

Maes, who had barely managed to keep a straight face the whole time Roy recounted to him what had happened in the infirmary, burst into a fit of uncontrolled laughter again. 

"'That's how the boys did it'!" he repeated in an exaggerated tone, pulling an overly whiny face. 

Roy blushed furiously. He didn't understand what he had done wrong. The girls at the fair had always seemed to like it. They had taken the flowers or the candy the boys had given them. Was that his problem? Should he have given her flowers too? Roy wanted to ask Maes, but he would probably just make fun of him again. 

“So, what should I do now?”, Roy muttered under his breath. He had no idea how to go from here. He didn’t know how to talk to women and he certainly didn’t know how to talk to Riza. He remembered her still as the little girl that would tell him all about her lonely life and the adventures she would dream of when she had the time. She had been so at ease with him, sharing a part of herself that she wouldn’t show anyone else.

But now he was a stranger to her. A man she didn’t know, and he didn’t even know himself! He still didn’t quite understand all of this. How could he have a human life when he had been a wooden horse before? Had he stolen some poor man’s body away? Had he just snatched his whole life away from the guy? But what a coincidence it was that this person seemed to be named just like him. Roy Mustang. Madame Christmas’ name had been Mustang too. This couldn’t be a huge coincidence, could it?

“Well, first of all you go to her and apologize, obviously. If you really want her to go out with you, you must get her to like you first. And for that, she will have to forgive you. And then you give her a chance to get to know you,” Maes explained.

“The nurses usually don’t mind a pretty soldier or two. There have been a lot of cases where a soldier might have taken them to a dance or bought them a drink. I myself have managed to snatch away the prettiest of all, my dear beautiful and perfect Gracia. She is actually a good friend of nurse Hawkeye’s. That’s why I can tell you: You did the absolute worst thing. Hawkeye has never gone out with any of the soldiers and she certainly doesn’t enjoy their romantic attention.”

Roy groaned. Of course he would be the one to mess this up completely. His little girl would never fall for the crude advances of a soldier, especially when he didn’t even talk to her before deciding to kiss her. She was much too clever for that and he would have slapped himself for no taking that into consideration. But he had been so blinded by his elation at seeing her.

He had missed her so terribly and he had been so worried for her. He had been completely unprepared when she had suddenly stood before him, a grown young woman, the girl he loved. He hadn’t been able to hold himself back. How would he? He wasn’t used to being able to move, talk and generally perform the actions he so deeply desired. He was new to his own freedom, drowning in the endless possibilities that unfolded before him. He had never learned to take a moment and think things through before bursting into action.

But he would learn. For Riza he would learn everything.

 

 

 

 

Riza had just finished a back to back shift. It was 2330 hours and all she wanted to do was take a shower, eat some very very late dinner and fall onto her cot. She wasn’t even in the mood for some recreational shooting practice, that usually calmed her down after a stressful day.

But not today. Today she was tired.

She was just about to take off her apron, when Gracia stepped into the locker room, a quiet smile on her lips. Riza cocked a tired eyebrow. She knew that look. That was Gracia’s way of looking mischievous. And Riza was sure that she wouldn’t like what it entailed.

“There is a soldier waiting for you,” she said by way of greeting.

Riza turned her eyes back to her locker and unpinned the little nurse cap from her hair.

“I am off duty. Tell him to go find a different nurse. Ross should be on duty now.”

Gracia chuckled. Riza could hear the grin in the bubbly sounds she made. This was not good.

“Oh no. The poor boy wants to talk to you. He said he wanted to apologize for something? He even brought flowers.”

Riza paused. She had a general idea what this could be about, but that didn’t make things better. She didn’t want to deal with an idiot who went around kissing perfect strangers. If the cards weren’t stacked against her she would have had him written up for sexual harassment or something. But she also was intrigued. It wasn’t easy to find flowers in a war zone. This guy at least was serious about it.

“Who is it?”

Riza knew that her question was redundant. Only one soldier on the entire base would be waiting for her with an apology. Everyone else had no reason to apologize, seeing that her reputation as a shot and trained fighter preceded her. No one dared to coss her. No one but that idiot Sergeant. She didn’t know what about her had seemed so inviting. Maybe it had been a dare.

Riza sighed. That would actually make a lot of sense. A bet made in drunken stupor and now he had to kiss the scariest woman on base. That sounded like something stupid boys would do. And Riza knew the soldiers, she had stitched up enough of them. They were all just stupid boys.

“Sergeant Mustang. The one who… kissed you. He is one of Maes’ friends,” Gracia added with a slight smile, as if that redeemed him in her opinion.

Riza closed her locker with a little more force than necessary. Gracia was too nice of a person. She probably even pitied the boy, even though it had been his own fault. And a little slap across the cheek had never done anyone any serious harm. She didn’t know what the fuss was about. She was sure a lot of the other soldiers had earned a slap or two in their lives, barking up the wrong tree. Or catcalling the wrong girl.

“Where is he?”

It turned out that Sergeant Mustang was waiting for her in the infirmary. He was leaning awkwardly against one of the tables, a bouquet of sunflowers dangling from his hands. Riza made sure that her apron was fitting exactly like it should before she strode over. She didn’t have time for this, but Gracia would be disappointed if she didn’t give Maes’ friend the opportunity to at least try to apologise. And Riza preferred not to upset Gracia.

“Sergeant Mustang?” she said, her voice reserved.

The young man looked up from the floor, where his gaze had been stuck to his own shoes. When his eyes met hers, he smiled. It wasn’t a bright one, it was just the slightest raising of the corners of his mouth, but it seemed to take over his whole face and it softened something in her. She would almost categorize his expression as endearing.

“Nurse Hawkeye!”

Riza regarded his slightly flushed face with caution. He seemed to actually be looking forward to seeing her. That somehow seemed odd to her. She didn’t even know the guy.

“Please call me Roy.”

Whatever retort Riza would have made at the idea of such unsubstantiated familiarity died on her lips when he uttered his name. It was a name that Riza hadn’t heard often in her life, but it was a name she knew very well.

It belonged to her oldest childhood friend. Riza hadn’t thought about the few moments of joy she had had in her childhood in a long time. But this name brought it all back. The music, the smell of cotton candy and sugared almonds, the sound of children’s laughter and the funny feeling as she rode the dark horse on the merry-go-round, releasing hundreds of little butterflies in her stomach.

“I… what do you want?”

Sergeant Mustang fumbled to hold out his arm, offering her the flowers he had brought. Riza looked at them, not sure what to do. Nobody had ever given her flowers before.

“I wanted to apologize for my inappropriate behaviour towards you the other day. I didn’t mean to offend you and I shouldn’t have kissed you. I am very sorry!”

Riza stared at him. She was at a complete loss. She hadn’t thought that his apology would sound so sincere. She had expected a cocky line or some flirty excuse, like she had heard a lot of the soldiers use on nurses. But his modest honesty was something she hadn’t seen coming at all.

She took the flowers.

“Just… don’t do it again.”

“No, ma’am.”

The smile he gave her was an honest one. Riza could feel the blush creeping into her cheeks and there was nothing she could do against it. She simply couldn’t stay mad at him, even though it had been her first kiss. She was not happy about the fact that she was apparently lost to this guy’s charm just because his name was her favorite memory and his face was halfway decent. Riza Hawkeye never let herself get distracted by such superfluous things. She simply didn’t.

Before she could ponder her situation in more detail, a yawn made its way past her lips and reminded her that she really needed to go to bed.

“I have to go now. I have been on my feet for about 30 hours, I really need to get rest now. Thanks for the flowers. Good night.”

She took her chance of escape, not letting him get a word in. She didn’t want him to offer to walk her to her room. She was too tired to argue and she might actually say yes. That would give him the wrong impression.

As she fled from the situation, the flowers clutched on her hands, it didn’t even occur to Riza that she didn’t have a vase.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How did you guys like it? I've got to warn you, fluff and cuteness and a lot of feels TM are awaiting you. And no, I sometimes cannot do anything against all the little nods to Canon, they just force their way in...


	3. Beneath The Twilight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, before I throw myself into another desperate try of doing camp Nano this year, I give you the last part of the story!
> 
> I hope you'll like it, it was certainly a blast to write!

The days after his apology had Roy both relieved and on edge. He was happy that Riza had taken the flowers, but otherwise he had not seen her very often. There had been a time when he had spotted her at lunch, sitting with the other nurses and concentrating on eating her stew.

 

She had seemed so lost between her chatting friends, Roy had wanted nothing more than to go over and talk to her about pirates and knights. But then she had turned to smile at one of them, making a small comment and the whole table had burst into giggles. Roy had been very happy that Riza had at least found some friends who appreciated her.

 

He had also seen her when he came back from a field trip and had to deliver one of his fellow soldiers into the infirmary for a sprained ankle. She had expertly taken care of the whole situation, calming the man and treating the injury at the same time. Roy knew that staying behind and trying to talk to her would only distract her and he had to report to his superior officer anyway. So he had left after giving her a nod and a small smile. He hadn’t even stayed long enough to see whether she had returned it.

 

But he really wanted to talk to her again. Being with her made him feel a happiness he hadn’t experienced before. And now that he was slowly getting used to being a human, he could feel that this excitement to be around her was even different from before. Seeing her would fill him with a longing for something he couldn’t put his finger on. It had started with the kiss.

 

Kissing her had awoken something in him that he hadn’t known was even there. He had never had dreams in his life - seeing that as a wooden horse he didn’t sleep. But now his dreams were filled with fantasies of holding her close and smelling the gunpowder in her hair, feeling her skin against his.

 

Roy had reluctantly asked Maes about it, and the other man had told him that that was just a normal part of being in love with someone.

 

The way he had said it had stuck with Roy. He hadn’t thought about his feelings like that. He hadn’t even dared to categorize it that way. Maes has once explained to him the difference between loving someone platonically and being in love with someone.

 

At first Roy had been confused, but now he realized that his feelings towards Riza had changed. He had loved the little girl like a sister or maybe a dear friend. Maybe he had loved her like one would love a goddess - from a distance and with a purity that was without equal.

 

But he had fallen in love with the woman he met as a man. He could feel the small spark of desire grow into something that was beyond him. Each smile of her, each time that he caught a glimpse of her somewhere, each time he heard her voice nurtured his love for her and let it grow. He needed her like the sun on his skin and the air to breathe.

 

He had hatched a plan with Maes. First, he would casually approach her and make small talk. Roy couldn’t quite grasp the whole concept of small talk, but Maes had helped him with that too. Then he would try and sit with her at lunch if ever he had the opportunity. And if she was willingly talking to him and would even laugh in his presence, he would ask her out. That was the big one. He would ask her to go dancing down at the bar, like all the other soldiers and pretty nurses.

 

Roy had no idea how to dance. But he would figure that out later. First he had to get her to talk to him.

 

His big chance came when he saw her reading in the cool shade of a tree one afternoon. She must have been on her break, or maybe she had had an early morning shift. Roy had just come from a training run and was thoroughly sweaty and dehydrated. He held onto his luke warm bottle of water and pondered whether or not to approach her.

 

“Excuse me ma’am… would you like my chocolate bar? It was supposed to be my lunch but I somehow forgot about it, and dinner is in half an hour…”

 

Riza looked up from her book and squinted her eyes at the sun that was shining right behind him.

 

“Sergeant Mustang?”

 

He grinned and motioned to a spot beside her.

 

“May I sit with you? I just ran 20 miles, I don’t think I can stand for one more second.”

 

Riza blinked. Roy thought that the obvious confusion on her face was the cutest thing ever. She looked like a perplexed kitten.

 

“Well, I don’t own this tree, nor do I own the ground upon which it grows…”

 

Roy laughed and unceremoniously plopped to the ground beside her, trying to keep a polite distance.

 

“Of course not. But it’s a matter of courtesy to ask for your permission. Maybe you don’t enjoy my company…”

 

“No, I-”

 

Roy grinned triumphantly. She had just admitted that she indeed did enjoy his company. And apparently Riza had noticed that as well, judging from her blush and how quickly she had cut herself off.

 

“You are really a sly one, Sergeant Mustang…” she trailed off, balancing her open book on her knees.

 

“Please call me Roy,” he tried not to sound too pleading, but it was hard. He really wanted to hear his name from her lips, even if it was just once.

 

“Roy…” she said quietly. “I once had a horse named Roy.”

 

“Was it a Mustang?”

 

Riza turned her head towards him, a weird look on her face. Then she snorted and burst into laughter.

 

“That has got to be the worst joke ever made,” she said.

 

But Roy didn’t care. He had made her laugh and he enjoyed that immensely. She looked very beautiful when she smiled, and the sound of her pearly laughter made him forget the exhaustion of his training run.

 

“But it made you laugh. That calls into question your sense of humour, ma’am.”

 

She lightly boxed his shoulder. Roy, who hadn’t seen the unexpected body contact coming, almost fell to the side. He caught himself just barely, and grinned at her.

 

“Hey, I could have you written up for violent behaviour and workplace bullying,” he quipped.

 

The laugh that shook her was like music in his ears. After their first encounter he hadn’t thought that they would ever be able to laugh so freely together. He had been afraid that he might have destroyed his chance of forming a friendship with her. But sitting together under the tree, he dared to hope again.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Roy asked her out exactly three weeks later, as she was sitting with him at dinner. They both had some chicken noodle soup and a bread roll and  Roy took their shared culinary taste as the perfect excuse to go get a drink together.

 

Riza laughed and shook her head, citing that she didn’t go out with soldiers.

 

A month later had Roy ask her again. She was sitting with Gracia and he was heading over, together with Maes. Maes of course had already asked Gracia to go dancing together this Friday evening and now he just wanted to drop by and give her a kiss. When the conversation turned to the activity that was to come in the evening, Roy dared to ask Riza to join in.

 

As before, Riza laughed and declined.

 

Roy tried his best not to hang his head. Maes patted his shoulder, clearly sympathetic. But Roy could take no for an answer. He accepted that Riza would probably never be interested in him in the same way and even though it pierced his heart, he accepted it. 

 

As long as they could still be friends, he would be okay. He knew that he would never love anyone the way he loved her, but above all, he wanted her to be happy.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The war went on and their base was attacked. Roy was scared, but what else was he supposed to do? He was a soldier now, and he had someone to protect. Their troop was set to join the battle the next morning.

 

He wanted to spend the evening with Maes, trying to distract each other from the danger that they were running into. But of course, Maes was preoccupied. He was spending as much time with Gracia as he could, the last hours dwindling and running through his hands. He was probably holding her hand right now, desperately pretending that come morning he wouldn’t leave her for a journey neither knew he would return from.

 

So Roy spent his evening alone. He had made a few friends along the way, but there were only so many people that he wanted to see before he walked into the unknown.

 

“Care for a match?”

 

Roy gazed up to see Riza standing before him. She held out a wooden chess set. Roy could have sworn he had seen that before. It certainly wasn’t the one from the common room that he and Riza played with from time to time. That one was old, worn and missing two white pawns and a black rook.

 

“Courtesy of Lieutenant General Grumman,” she explained and sat across from him.

 

Roy smiled. Leave it to Riza to distract him from impending battle by playing a game of war, on the play set of his superior officer nonetheless. Her sense for irony was unmatched.

 

“Yes, ma’am,” he grinned at her and set up the board.

 

They played for the better part of an hour, neither of them talking. They both knew what was going to happen tomorrow, and they didn’t need to talk about it. They could simply enjoy each other’s company and try to find comfort in each other.

 

It was the third time that Riza had put him in check, and Roy was trying to find a new way out of the situation, when Riza suddenly spoke.

 

“If you come back, I will go one one date with you. But only after the war. I don’t want to give you any excuse to go and get yourself killed.”

 

Roy stared at her, his mouth agape. Suddenly he had no idea how to free his king from her trap. And he didn’t care. Riza set him check and mate in two turns.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Riza was nervous. She re-adjusted her dress for the fifth time, always giving herself another critical look over in the mirror. She felt very foolish about it, but she was nervous, incredibly so.

 

Roy had kept his promise and two years after he made it, the war was officially over, Roy was home and in one piece. They had both just received their invitations for Maes' and Gracia’s wedding, and Roy had used that as an excuse to remind her of her part of the promise.

 

So on this Friday evening she stood in the tiny little apartment that she shared with Rebecca  in East City and was waiting for Roy to pick her up. He hadn’t told her where they would go, but he had said that she shouldn’t eat dinner before he came by.

 

So she guessed that he would probably take her to one of the many restaurants the city had to offer. Maybe he would even take her to a Xingese place, she had heard that East City had the best Xingese food this side of the great dessert.

 

She couldn’t have been more wrong.

 

Riza still didn’t know why she was making such a fuss. It was just Roy. He was her friend and they had spent a lot of evenings together. Just because this was labeled as a date didn’t mean that it would be any different from their usual meals together.

 

She opened the door and his smile was blinding. He didn’t bring her any flowers at least. She had been afraid he would go full on with the charm. He did however look very nice in a three piece suit. and he also offered her his arm as they walked to his car.

 

“You look very lovely,” he told her as they drove. She watched one restaurant after the other pass by the window and wondered where he would take her.

 

They left the city center and Riza found herself more and more in the outskirts of the city. If she would be with anyone else, she would be very suspicious now. She would probably take the emergency gun from her thigh holster and demand that he bring her home immediately. 

 

But this was Roy. Roy was her friend and she trusted him. He would never endanger her and he would never bring her anywhere shady. She could fall asleep in her seat naked and he would cover her up and bring her home.

 

Riza eyed his face with a little side glance. He looked concentrated on the road, but otherwise his face was unreadable. For the first time she noticed that in profile the line of his nose almost seemed regal. There was an elegance to the way the bridge of his nose was formed. Riza blushed, chastising herself for her foolishness.

 

She had completely forgotten her surroundings when Roy finally stopped the car. Embarrassed by her lapse in alertness, she even let him open the car door for her. When she finally registered where he had taken her, she let out a surprised gasp.

 

They were standing in front of a fair. Almost immediately the warm summer breeze carried over the aroma of sugared almonds and cotton candy. She stared with wide eyes at the colorful lights that were illuminating the ferris wheel and the other rides.

 

“I hope you like it?” he asked, his voice a little bit uncertain.

 

Riza was at a loss for words. She had never mentioned to him that she used to go to the fair when it came to her little town. She had always kept that secret close, like a cherished memory that she didn’t want to share with anyone. She didn’t even know if she could go to a fair with him. What if he thought her childish? How would that taint the only good memories she had from her childhood?

 

Her musings were cut short when a warm hand gently enclosed hers and Roy smiled at her. She found herself following him onto the fairground, her feet moving on their own accord.

 

She took in the brightly painted attractions and bathed in the sound of the children’s laughter and their excited shouts. There was a shooting gallery and Roy tried his best to shoot her a rose. He managed to get her a pink one.

 

Riza shook her head and firmly pushed him aside.

 

“Let me show you how it’s done,” she said.

 

In the end, she shot him a bouquet of roses and a large plush teddy. Roy smiled, pressing his face into the toy’s soft fur.

 

“Thank you, ma’am,” he said.

 

It was sort of an inside joke between the two of them. When they were feeling playful, he would call her that and she would call him Sergeant Mustang. Other people would raise their eyebrows at them, asking why they didn’t refer to each other by their first name.They never expected anyone other than Gracia and Maes to get it, though.

 

“So, can I take you on a ride?”

 

Riza finished off what was left of the ice cream cone Roy had gotten her and shrugged her shoulders.

 

“Sure thing,” she said and started into the direction of the ferris wheel. It was a bigger one than she had ever seen, but then again the only fair she had ever visited was the one in her tiny little town. A big city like East City would of course offer grander rides.

 

Roy stopped her by reaching out and taking hold of her hand again.

 

“I’m sorry, I have a fear of heights. Would you mind going on this one instead?”

 

She followed his gaze and her eyes landed on the merry-go-round. Her heartbeat quickened. It was the spitting image of the one from her childhood.

 

As they walked closer she noticed that it even had the same black horse, and like before, nobody was riding it. The music - she remembered the tune - faded away as the carousel came to a halt and the children jumped from their seats, running off into the crowd or to their parents to beg them for another ride. Roy came back from purchasing two tickets and led her onto the platform.

 

Instead for going to one of the coaches, he stopped in front of the black horse.

 

“A ride on a Mustang, ma’am?” he asked with a huge grin.

 

Riza nodded and slowly got onto the horse, having to sit on it sideways in order to not mess up her skirt. She didn’t even mind the helping hand that Roy lent her. Her hands ghosted over the black mane and the gold paint on his reigns. For a moment her heart was full of hope, but when she let her fingers trail behind his ear, she saw that the paint there was in perfect condition.

 

She sighed. Of course it wasn’t him. She wasn’t feeling the same familiarity that she had as a child, when each year she had been back for her horse. She still had the little token that the Madame had given her all those years ago. It had been her good luck charm through the war.

 

The music started up and a shiver went through her as Roy laid his hand in the small of her back, steadying her as the merry-go-round began to move. She closed her eyes and suddenly she was a little girl again, riding her beloved horse and pretending that she didn’t have a care in the world.

 

Only then did it occur to her that Roy was still standing next to her, his hand still on her back.

 

“Shouldn’t you be riding your own horse?” she said, trying to sound light. 

 

“I’d rather see you enjoy yourself,” he said and the gleam in his eyes made her dizzy. “And I have to make sure that you are safe, don’t I?”

 

Riza would never know why she leaned down and kissed him.But when she pressed her lips against his, she felt like she had finally come home. He steadied her, holding her hand and elbow so she wouldn’t slip off the horse as he returned the kiss, the faint taste of strawberry ice cream still on his tongue.

 

For Riza, everything was spinning in circles. She didn’t know how much time she had spent sitting on the horse, her arms around Roy’s neck, her lips on his. But eventually they came to a stop, the music (which had only been a faint background noise to her) dying completely. It took her a moment to let go of him. She had to hold onto his shoulders to not fall. She realized in that moment, that she had fallen for him long ago.

 

“That was nice…” he whispered, his eyes full of hope.

 

Riza could feel her lips form into a smile. She couldn’t hold back her huge grin, even as a tear threatened to spill over.

 

“I love you, you stupid idiot,” she said.

 

“I love you too, Riza-” he started, but was stopped when a darkly clad figure approached.

 

“Ah, I see you found each other then,” the Madame said, giving Riza a smile.

 

Riza’s eyes widened as she saw the woman.

 

“Hello little lady. I am glad to see that you made it safely through the war.”

 

Riza almost fell off the horse. It was Roy who caught her and gently set her onto her feet again. She blushed at her own jumpiness, but she had gotten quite the shock. She would have never thought that she would see the woman - and her horse - ever again.

 

“Hello Roy-boy,” the Madame turned to Roy.

 

He looked a little pale in the face, but that could be remnants of the ride and their unplanned kissing session. He might be just as dizzy as she was.

 

“This is my nephew. He’s the one your horse was named after.”

 

Riza stared at the both of them, finding herself absolutely unable to speak.

 

“Poor horse had quite the adventure while you were gone. The carousel was struck by lightning and I had to repaint him. But I can see that you are in good hands now…” she trailed off and gave Roy a knowing smile.

 

“Won’t you two come for tea tomorrow afternoon, your sisters will be quite happy to see you again, Roy-boy.”

 

Roy nodded slowly and Riza thought that he looked a little confused. He had never talked much of his family, shrouding himself in vague statements and an aura of mystery. But Riza couldn’t fault him for that. She herself barely talked about her father.

 

They promised the Madame that they would visit and she sent them off to continue their date.

 

Riza was still a little unsteady on her feet, the meeting with the Madame and finding out that Roy way actually her nephew had taken its toll on her. Some things were just too huge to be a mere coincidence.

 

“Do you believe in destiny?” she asked him when they were walking back to his car later that night.

 

He had taken her hand when they had stepped off the merry-go-round and hadn’t let go of it for the rest of the evening. It felt to her like they have always been holding hands. 

 

He smiled at her and brought her hand to his lips, pressing a small kiss on it.

 

“I think it was my destiny to find you,” he said.

 

Riza blushed.

 

“Why does it sound so real when you say it?”

 

“Because we both know it’s true.”

 

She laughed and tugged on his hand to draw him in for another kiss.


End file.
